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Weak commodity prices have hurt company share prices and led to mass job cuts over the past 12 months, but the pain may not be over yet. A report from Newport Consulting recently showed almost 80 per cent of mining leaders are reducing capital expenditure and thousands more mining jobs could be shed this year. In the face of the doom and gloom, companies such as Newmont Mining, Australia's largest gold producer, believe they can ride out the volatility through better productivity and efficiency.

Delegates negotiating a vast Pacific free-trade agreement failed to reach a final deal after several days of intense talks in Hawaii, in a setback to US President Barack Obama. "After more than a week of productive meetings we've made significant progress and will continue on resolving a limited number of remaining issues, paving the way for the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations," Froman told a press conference. The negotiators were "more confident than ever that the TPP is within reach," he said, adding that the Pacific Rim countries involved would continue to have bilateral discussions to try and iron out their remaining differences.

Delegates negotiating a huge Pacific free-trade agreement failed to reach a final deal after several days of intense talks in Hawaii, in a setback to US President Barack Obama. "After more than a week of productive meetings we've made significant progress and will continue on resolving a limited number of remaining issues, paving the way for the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations," Froman told a press conference. The negotiators were "more confident than ever that TPP is within reach," he said, adding that the Pacific Rim countries involved would continue to have bilateral discussions to try and iron out their remaining differences.

Delegates negotiating a huge Pacific free-trade agreement said Friday they have failed to reach a final deal after several days of intense talks in Hawaii, in a setback to US President Barack Obama. "After more than a week of productive meetings we've made significant progress and will continue on resolving a limited number of remaining issues, paving the way for the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations," said Froman. The negotiators were "more confident than ever that TPP is within reach," he said, adding that the Pacific Rim countries involved would continue to have bilateral discussions to try and iron out their remaining differences.

South Korea's exports shrank in July for a seventh straight month due to sluggish global demand and low oil prices, government data showed Saturday. Exports fell 3.3 percent from a year earlier to $46.61 billion in July, while imports plunged 15.3 percent to $38.85 billion, the Ministry of Trade, Industries and Energy said. Car exports fell 6.2 percent on-year to $3.99 billion, while shipments of mobile communication devices including cellphones plunged 16 percent to $2.15 billion, it said.

Delegates negotiating a huge Pacific free-trade agreement said they have failed to reach a final deal after several days of intense talks in Hawaii, in a setback to US President Barack Obama. "After more than a week of productive meetings we've made significant progress and will continue on resolving a limited number of remaining issues, paving the way for the conclusion of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations," said Froman. The negotiators were "more confident than ever that TPP is within reach," he said, adding that the Pacific Rim countries involved would continue to have bilateral discussions to try and iron out their remaining differences.

Energy company Wintershall, a subsidiary of German chemicals group BASF, said Friday it planned to help Russia's Gazprom enlarge the Nord Stream gas pipeline between Russia and Germany. "BASF subsidiary Wintershall intends to participate in expanding the capacities of the Nord Stream pipeline, which delivers Russian natural gas to European customers via the Baltic Sea," it said in a statement.

Oil prices hit fresh multi-month low points this week, with no sign of an end to a global supply glut. On the ICE Futures US exchange, cocoa for September increased to $3,237 a tonne from $3,197 the previous week.

Petrol prices are expected to fall over the remainder of the year from recent highs driven by a shortage of supply in Asia. Westpac senior economist Justin Smirk said there is some truth in suggestions the Singapore refining market has been surprised by a jump in demand for specific standards of gasoline required in the Australian market. Mr Smirk said Asian gasoline supply would increase in the coming months and Australian petrol prices will again be driven by crude oil prices, the value of the Australian dollar and refining margins.

Weakness in petroleum-linked equities weighed on US stocks Friday following poor earnings from ExxonMobil and Chevron and a drop in oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 55.52 points (0.31 ...

Weakness in petroleum-linked equities weighed down the Dow and the S&P 500 Friday following poor earnings from ExxonMobil and Chevron and a drop in oil prices. At the closing bell, the Dow Jones Industrial ...

Oil prices plummeted Friday as traders digested the latest OPEC signal that crude production would not be cut despite global oversupply and falling prices. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for September delivery dived almost 3.0 percent, shedding $1.40 to close at $47.52 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent North Sea crude for September dropped $1.10 (2.1 percent) to settle at $52.21 a barrel in London trade.

US oil giants Chevron and ExxonMobil signaled Friday further belt-tightening ahead as the industry responds to lower oil prices that slammed earnings in the second quarter. Chevron said it was trimming 1,500 jobs as it cuts 2015 capital spending about $5 billion compared with last year. "We're getting our cost structure down, through renegotiations across the supply chain and by sizing our contractor and employee workforce to reflect lower activity levels going forward," said Chevron chief executive John Watson.

Lower oil prices hammered earnings of US petroleum giants ExxonMobil and Chevron Friday, adding to the industry's woes amid its worst downturn since the late 1990s. ExxonMobil, the biggest US oil company, said second-quarter profits fell by 52.3 percent year-over-year to $4.2 billion as it reported a loss in its US exploration and production division. The carnage was even worse at Chevron, which reported about a 90 percent drop in profits to just $571 million and pledged a tough line on expenses.

Falling commodity prices and turbulence on China's share markets is not expected to be enough for the Reserve Bank to deliver another rate cut. All 16 economists surveyed by AAP expect the cash rate to remain steady when the RBA board meets on Tuesday, and 12 are tipping no move this year. "Iron ore is a little lower, China's a bit more volatile, but there's really not much a rate cut can do about all that," TD Securities chief Asia-Pacific macro strategist Annette Beacher said.

Russia's central bank on Friday made its smallest interest rate cut this year as it juggled attempts to resuscitate the economy with inflation fears after a recent slide in the ruble. The bank cut its key rate by 50 basis points to 11 percent in its fifth reduction since January, as it struggles to breath life into an economy battered by lower oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine. The Bank of Russia said the rate cut was made "taking into account that the balance of risks is shifting towards considerable economy cooling despite a slight increase in inflation risks".

The China-Australia free trade agreement means the tariffs, equating to 20 per cent on average for Blackmores products or over 35 per cent for fish oil supplements, will be wound down to zero over four years. Blackmores chief executive Christine Holgate said the move will help her company compete with lower cost and inferior quality operators. It will also create jobs in Australia.

Oil prices extended their decline Friday with no sign of an end to a global supply glut. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for September delivery fell 86 cents to $47.66 a barrel. Brent North Sea crude for September shed 62 cents to $52.69 a barrel in afternoon London deals.

ExxonMobil reported Friday second-quarter earnings plunged by more than 50 percent following the big drop in crude oil prices. The results reflected the impact of a big drop in oil prices in the second quarter to a range of about $45-60 a barrel, compared with more than $90 a barrel in the equivalent period in 2014. Earnings in the upstream business, which explores for and produces crude oil, dived about 75 percent to $2.0 billion.

Origin Energy has lifted quarterly production and revenue despite plunging oil prices. The company's production in the three months to June was up 15 per cent from the preceding three months, due mainly ...

The stock market has opened higher as investors look to earnings season, but the mining sector has stumbled following further strengthening of the US dollar and dip in commodity prices. Gold was heading for its biggest monthly decline for two years but OptionsXpress market analyst Ben Le Brun said the picture wasn't too gloomy for the miners. At 1040 AEST on Friday, BHP Billiton was down 18 cents, or 0.68 per cent, at $26.32, while Fortescue Metals Group was down three cents, or 1.58 per cent, at $1.865 and Rio Tinto was flat at $52.99.

Natural-gas futures fell further on Thursday after the U.S. Energy Information Administration reported that supplies of natural gas rose by 52 billion cubic feet for the week ended July 24. Analysts polled ...

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